Telefonica will slash the number of handsets it offers by more than half, Matthew Key, former head of Telefonica Europe and current head of the newly formed digital unit, has announced.

The operator currently offers more than 240 handsets worldwide, of which just 12 are common in every market, but aims to cut that number down to less than 100, said Key, according to news agency Reuters.

The move comes as part of a wider efficiency drive, and aims to allow the operator enhanced freedom to develop new products and services within its digital division.

Telefonica will use its newly-formed division  to conduct all of its digital projects and research and development as it attempts to create new services, and speed up their time to market.

The projects and services will focus on areas such as digital advertising, financial services, cloud computing and machine to machine operations.

Key said Telefonica is also attempting to attract collaboration from start-up firms worldwide by offering “not insignificant sums” to support their new innovations.